Posts Tagged ‘crime and justice’

Before railroads and automobiles, travelers depended on the quality and skills of North Woods guides to show them the region’s natural beauty, to feed them and provide the best in hunting and fishing. Often, guides were entrusted with taking ladies in the woods.

The guides, especially those not aligned with large hotels, depended on per diem fees for subsistence and quality reputations for honesty, dependability and woodcraft benefited all guides. So when two guides brought dishonor to the profession, guides hoped people realized these two were the exception. » Continue Reading.

My husband and I are the parents that have limited “screen time” for our children. We have had numerous conversations about Internet safety. We’ve read books and talked with friends. We’ve always felt that our Internet restrictions are great, but children eventually leave the small bubble where we live.

Children share information instantaneously now and I’ve always known that I can’t shield my children from everything. I want to make sure that that they have enough information to make good choices when, not if, a situation arises.

Kids are bombarded by negativity on computers, on their phones, in advertisements, on television – How do we present a positive message that isn’t in the form of another lecture? » Continue Reading.

Wilderness advocates in the environmental movement have known for years there is a problem when it comes to diversity and the future of the Adirondacks. We look around the backcountry on an inviting summer weekend and we see people who use, love, and defend New York’s wildest lands. But we don’t see many people of color. » Continue Reading.

A New Hampshire man has admitted illegally shooting a bull moose in the town of Croghan just west of the Adirondack Park.

Steven Zehr of Walpole, New Hampshire, turned himself in after shooting the animal on private land on the morning of November 25, according to Stephen Litwhiler, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

Litwhiler said Zehr was in a tree stand and mistook the moose, which weighed nearly 690 pounds, for an antlered deer. It was about 10 a.m. when the moose was killed. Zehr was charged with illegally taking wild game, a misdemeanor, and paid a $1,200 civil fine. » Continue Reading.

Local writer and senior editor at Adirondack Life magazine Niki Kourofsky exposes the North Country’s shadowy past of crime and dark deeds in a new book, Adirondack Outlaws: Bad Boys And Lawless Ladies (Farcountry Press, 2015).

Kourofsky’s storytelling puts readers in the thick of shootouts, jewel heists, bank robberies, manhunts, and unsolved murders. Spanning eight decades of Adirondack history and ranging from Glens Falls to the Canadian border, Adirondack Outlaws is rich in the details of safe-crackers, sneak thieves, and stick-up men and gangs, along with several murders, manhunts, and unsolved mysteries. » Continue Reading.

On our visits to the Adirondack Museum, my family has always found that there really isn’t enough time to see it all in one day. That is why the Adirondack Museum Cabin Fever Sundays present a different way of learning about the vast information tucked within the museum’s buildings in Blue Mountain Lake.

According to Adirondack Museum Marketing Assistant Paige Doerner the second Cabin Fever event will feature Adirondack LifeSenior Editor Niki Kourofsky’s tales of “Adirondack Outlaws.” Kourofsky is bringing the Adirondack’s criminal element to light and is highlighting just a few of the historical scallywags, bandits and fiends from her recently published book, Adirondack Outlaws: Bad Boys and Lawless Ladies.» Continue Reading.

New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police Officers (ECOs) ticketed numerous poachers for violating hunting and firearm laws and regulation during the big game hunting season in DEC Region 5, which includes most of the Adirondack Park.

ECOs charged 152 individuals with a total of 270 total charges. The charges included 91 misdemeanors and 179 violations. » Continue Reading.

A Hamilton County prosecutor will not press charges in the death of a man who died of a cardiac attack at St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church in Indian Lake during an altercation with parishioners.

District Attorney Marsha King Purdue described the deceased—44-year-old Joseph Berg—as “a deeply troubled man” who had been drinking heavily before attending the 4 p.m. mass on June 28. She said his blood-alcohol level was about three times higher than the legal limit for drivers in New York State. » Continue Reading.

One hundred and fifty-five years ago today John Brown was executed after leading an anti-slavery raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, part of the radical movement of tens of thousands of Americans struggling to undermine the institution of slavery in America before the Civil War.

It’s often said that just one thing secured Brown’s place in the hearts of millions of Americans – his execution and martyrdom. But there is another more important reason to celebrate the life of John Brown – his courage in standing against unjust state and federal laws, the press, and popular culture in the cause of basic human rights.

In 2009, I wrote a ten-part series of posts following the last days of John Brown’s fight to end slavery. You can find that here (to read in chronological order, start at the bottom).

After release from prison, Alonzo Clark returned to New York and married a young girl in Brandon, south of Malone, where he worked as a farmhand. It wasn’t long before he returned to crime, stealing horses prior to engaging in a high-profile scam at Helena, a hamlet in northern St. Lawrence County. In early 1885, posing as a salesman and tinware repairman, Clark ingratiated himself to Adam Knapp, 69, and his wife, Susan, 50, claiming to be a cousin of Luella, their adopted 16-year-old daughter.

After several nights of reading from the Bible with the family and turning on the charm, Alonzo won them over, particularly Luella. He courted her for several days, using Adam Knapp’s own horse and cutter to woo her on country rides. Within about two weeks’ time, they married. » Continue Reading.

When regional history books by well-known authors like Frederick J. Seaver (Historical Sketches of Franklin County) and Maitland De Sormo (The Heydays of the Adirondacks) mention criminals, there’s probably a good backstory, but one quite difficult to trace.

A prime example: Alonzo Clark, legendary horse thief of northern New York, New England, and the West. It’s unfortunate that Seaver’s paragraph on Clark is almost completely erroneous. A chapter of a book published in 2009 by the History Press didn’t do much better, covering his story in lackluster and cursory fashion with just a few snippets easily found online by casual searchers. The first 35 years of his crimes were completely ignored. » Continue Reading.

For nearly 25 years the Crane Pond Road has existed as an illegal and controversial 2-mile-long road in the Pharaoh Lake Wilderness area. This summer, there were regular reports about cars and trucks getting stuck in a mud wallow at a degraded point where the Crane Pond Road cuts through a wetland. In August, I encountered a group stuck there with their jeep when I walked the road.

In September, state agencies celebrated 50 years of the National Wilderness Act. The Adirondack Park Agency (APA) had presentations about the Wilderness Act and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) attended various ceremonies to pay homage to Wilderness. Both agencies elegized the importance of Wilderness.

The failure to close the Crane Pond Road belies their pretty words about Wilderness. Natural resource degradation has reached a point where the Crane Pond Road is now a public safety hazard. » Continue Reading.

When the night train to Montreal set out from Utica on April 29, 1931, James E. Smith had already been toiling over the needs and wants of his passengers for many hours. At 29 years old, Smith had been a Pullman porter for about three years. He had done a stint in Pennsylvania and now was employed on the New York Central line of the Pullman Company.

The experience of the Pullman porter was both uncommon yet ordinary. The Pullman Palace Car company hired black men almost exclusively as porters. This practice began under the direction of the founder of the company, George Pullman, after the Civil War. On board a luxurious and comfortable Pullman Car, Pullman porters were expected to be the ideal servants to their well off white passengers. » Continue Reading.

Chub Pond lean-to 1 is unlike any other lean-to on the Adirondack Forest Preserve.

I recently visited this spot in the Black River Wild Forest while surveying trail damage from ATVs. I had heard that this lean-to was being used as a private camp and using Google Earth I could see a chimney and skylights in the lean-to roof and a large cleared area. When I reached the site, it was even worse than I expected. » Continue Reading.

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